What does veterinary mean?
Word: Veterinary
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Veterinary means connected with the health and care of animals.
Word origin: From Latin veterinarius, from the noun veterinae.
How do you spell veterinary?
Syllables: vet - er - in - ary
Tricky part: In speech the middle often shrinks to 'vet-rin', so the er after the t gets lost and students write vetinary or vetrinary.
Watch out for: vetinary, vetrinary, veternary
Memory tip: Open with the same five letters as veteran, and the middle cannot go missing.
Veterinary in a sentence
Example 1: Our village has a veterinary clinic beside the weekly cattle market.
Example 2: She hopes to study veterinary science at college in Chennai.
Example 3: A veterinary nurse trimmed the parrot's overgrown beak.
Fun Fact
In British English the full job title is veterinary surgeon, usually cut to vet, while Americans often say veterinarian.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
veterin____
a) ery
b) ory
c) ary
d) iry
Show answer
c) ary. The ending is the one found in library and dictionary.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Veterinary goes back to the Latin word veterinae. What did veterinae mean?
a) old men of the town
b) doctors of the village
c) green fields and pastures
d) cattle and other working animals
Show answer
d) cattle and other working animals. The Latin word named animals that pulled carts and ploughs, which is why it passed to those who looked after them.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with the field it is connected with:
1. veterinary 2. culinary 3. maritime a. ships and the sea b. treating pets and farm animals c. cooking and kitchens
a) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. Pets and farm animals go with veterinary, kitchens with culinary and ships with maritime.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) husbendry
b) livelihood
c) agriculture
d) veterinary
Show answer
a) husbendry. Husbandry, the care of farm animals, has an a in its second part.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who would you most expect to find in the waiting room of a veterinary clinic?
a) a tailor with a torn shirt
b) a student with a maths book
c) a farmer with a young calf
d) a mechanic with a flat tyre
Show answer
c) a farmer with a young calf
2. Which school subject would help a veterinary student most?
a) biology
b) geography
c) economics
d) history
Show answer
a) biology
